Seeking Advice for Sudden Steering Seal Leakage

[Omega Woods]

I have a 2015 Branson 4520R with hydraulic steering. This morning when I went to do a little cleanup work around the place, I noticed that the steering was very heavy. This is normal for cold startup but it didn't seem to get better after a few minutes. When I stopped, I noticed a two drop per second leak from the left end of the steering actuator cylineder so obviously the seal has let go and needs to be replaced.

What would you advise? Replace the seal, take it to the hydraulic shop or get a new cylinder? I am capable of removing it from the tractor and reinstalling it with no problems, everything is readily accessible. Once I get the cylinder work done, are there any special precautions I need to take when putting it back on? Does it need to be bled or filled? I've done a lot of different work with lots of mechanical systems over the years (Navy, Power Plant mechanic, industrial maintenance guy, etc) but my knowledge of hydraulics is limited and I want to do it right.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

 

[rScotty]

If you have a good hydraulics shop locally I'd take it there. I'm a pretty good mechanic myself, and comfortable with hydraulics.....but cylinder seals are simple bread and butter for our local hydraulics shop. They already have all the right parts & tools & have done that job a lot of times. You'll end up with better seals, too.

Back when I had a mechanical shop I could never understand why anyone would rebuild their own carburetor. I could do the job faster and better than they could for the price they were going to pay for a rebuild kit. Where they saved money was by taking it off, bringing it in, and then reinstalling.
good luck,
rScotty

 

[Omega Woods]

Thank you very much, that's what I was thinking. There is a decent hyd shop five miles away.

Anything I need to do when I put it back in other than cycle the steering and refill the reservoir?

 

[Dave M7040]

Thank you very much, that's what I was thinking. There is a decent hyd shop five miles away.

Anything I need to do when I put it back in other than cycle the steering and refill the reservoir?

I don't know the geography of your area but if it gets to freezing temps or lower, a hydraulic system needs time to warm up before use.

The time can be as much as 30 minutes as you see in this chart.

O rings all look the same. Round and black but they are made from a wide variety of materials with different properties.
Asking low cost farm machinery O rings to perform flawlessly when cold is unreasonable.

The biggest example of an O ring failure was when the space shuttle Challenger blew up while ascending.

The weather in Florida was below freezing, the solid rocket designers kept cautioning NASA that it was too cold to launch but they did anyway.
A O ring seal between sections of the solid rocket booster failed allowing flame to hit the large fuel tank.

After that disaster, a second O ring was added to the design and an electric heating element followed the O rings to ensure they stayed warm and thus do their job of sealing.

Some owners feel that as soon as they get the engine fired up they are good to go. With simple tractors from the 1950's and 1960's that practice was OK but no longer.

I think you will find no more instances of hard steering if you let the system warm up.

Dave

 

[rScotty]

Thank you very much, that's what I was thinking. There is a decent hyd shop five miles away.

Anything I need to do when I put it back in other than cycle the steering and refill the reservoir?

You're welcome for the advice. I think you are doing the right thing. As for what else to do, nothing special except I'd like to emphasize that I'm in 100% agreement with the cold weather advice from Dave M7940 in reply #4. Both he and I live where the weather gets cold, and that's probably why we are both super careful about starting the tractor in the cold.
All my equipment has 110 volt block heaters, and when the weather gets cold I'll run that block heater - sometimes for hours before starting the tractor. If it is really cold and particularly when windy I'll wrap the front of the tractor in a heavy canvas tarp and run the block heater half a day or more.

It usually fires right up, but that's just the motor. I then climb off without touching a control except to push the 900 rpm normal idle up to about 1200 rpm with the hand throttle. I then leave it to this high idle for ten minutes to half an hour pretty much as Dave's chart shows. We sometimes idle longer, but never less. Don't shortcut on warmup time. Use a clock if necessary and also listen for odd sounds.
Good Luck,
rScotty

 

[3930dave]

I have a 2015 Branson 4520R with hydraulic steering. This morning when I went to do a little cleanup work around the place, I noticed that the steering was very heavy. This is normal for cold startup but it didn't seem to get better after a few minutes. When I stopped, I noticed a two drop per second leak from the left end of the steering actuator cylineder so obviously the seal has let go and needs to be replaced.

What would you advise? Replace the seal, take it to the hydraulic shop or get a new cylinder? I am capable of removing it from the tractor and reinstalling it with no problems, everything is readily accessible. Once I get the cylinder work done, are there any special precautions I need to take when putting it back on? Does it need to be bled or filled? I've done a lot of different work with lots of mechanical systems over the years (Navy, Power Plant mechanic, industrial maintenance guy, etc) but my knowledge of hydraulics is limited and I want to do it right.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Up here, I've learned to appreciate the cold-weather performance of synthetic oil. If that steering runs off a small sump (?), consider pricing a synthetic hyd oil that meets Branson's spec. Few manufacturers will require that a synthetic be used, but it will help low-temperature performance.

I say that realizing that TN cold is likely not what I see here (-30F yesterday, b4 windchill), but just wanted to toss that out for consideration. For equipment that I want to keep around, when I fix something I'll consider throwing a few more $ at a "better" solution, if available.....

Rgds, D.

 

[LouNY]

Yep, equipment that needs to be run in the cold benefits from synthetic fluids; engines, hydraulics, gear lube, grease and then it still needs a warmup time.
It may not be necessary or required by the manufacture but it is much easier on the equipment.

 

[Omega Woods]

Well, it was 40 degrees outside and I did let it warm up for at least five minutes but I'll let it go 10 next time. I grew up in a colder climate that I live in now and never had cold seal problems with a five minute warmup but that was a long time ago!

Thanks for the chart, I appreciate it. And thanks to everyone who responded. I will also swap out the hydraulic fluid for synthetic when I replace the cylinder.

 

[EddieWalker]

Just be sure that your reservoir of hydraulic fluid for the steering cylinders is full. It's under the floor boards and it is totally separate from the other hydraulics in the tractor.

 

[ADSNY]

As 3930dave perfectly explained, you should seek out a fluid that retains its viscosity through a wide temperature range. When choosing a fluid, pay attention, not only to the viscosity or thickness of the fluid, but also its viscosity index. The higher its VI, the better it retains its viscosity through temperatures.